Customer Reviews

DeLonghi ST100P Steam It Clean Steam Cleaner

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a Steam CLEANER not a Steam VACUUM.

The first time I used this I was worried I would give myself a third degree burn. I read the directions and went very slowly. After the first canister of water was used up, I gave up. I was exhausted but extremely impressed with the cleaning of my bathroom and hallway walls and ceiling. The next week I tried again. Reread the instructions and found it easier to handle.

I learned the easiest way to attach the cloth to the spring clips is to lay the cloth down flat, put the attachment on top of the cloth, press down on one spring and fold a corner of the cloth in. Then do the rest. I found it impossible to attach the cloth to the attachment while holding both in my hands.

Today was my third time using the product. Again I reread the instructions for any hint of how to use this product better and still worried about burning myself. All my kitchen cupboards, walls and ceiling came clean without a problem except for one. I don't know why but that one had terrible ugly streaks. Finally, I took the Carpet/floor brush off (which works great on walls and ceilings) and sprayed the area with the thin line crevice tool. I knew then that the problem really was dirt and not a bad paint job. Lots of longs streams of grease starting rolling down my wall and though I felt I might be making things worse I soaked the wall up good with the crevice tool. I then put on the carpet tool with a utility towel wrapped on it and quickly went over the area. It came out super clean and beautiful.

I had steam left in the canister and wondered what else I could use it on. (I find I hate to waste the steam and look for things to use it up on.)
I used this Steam Cleaner to clean my Hoover Steam Vacuum. My steam vacuum has this thin clear plastic piece in front where all the dirt and liquid passes through. It gets very disgusting looking at times since I have four cats and a dog. The tool they supply does not do a very good job of pushing the pet hairs out. I put the crevice tool back on and used this machine to shoot the pet hairs out of my steam vaccum. Now I don't have to look at that disgusting hard packed mass of cat hairs in my steam vacuum or deal with trying to push them out with that stupid piece of plastic. This to me is fanastic! (I hope you understand what I'm talking about here. It is hard to describe.)

Anyway the first and second time I used this product, I wondered if it was worth it. Today was my third time and now I do believe it is. For me, the crevice tool worked better on my windows today then the window squeegee did last week. I found the squeegee hard to manipulate. I think it is a matter of learning how to use the product. I never liked the job my steam vacuum did on my kitchen floors. I steamed cleaned my kitchen floors with this today and it worked so great and was so easy I am throwing out my mops. (I have many mops. I have gone threw so many types and not really liked any of them.)

Once you learn to regulate the steam with the on and off switch that is on the handle things will not get soaked and you should be able to clean a couch or chair with it. A steam vacuum might work easier for such a job but this machine would probably do a better job on getting out a tough stain.

I am glad I didn't give up on this machine. It is easy to use once you understand how to use it. I hate cleaning, and this machine kind of motivates me since I always feel I might as well keep cleaning as long as there is steam left. I saw a consumer report on another steam cleaner where the attachments get blown off and bigger messes are created because of the product. Well the attachments on this one don't blow off, and I think I made quite a big mess on my greasy kitchen wall today, but when I changed the attachment I was able to wipe up all that grease easily. (And I guess a rag by itself could always wipe up such messes.) It would have been very hard to get that wall clean without this product.

I did buy a lot of cheap utility cloths and I change them frequently while using this product. The machine does not suck up dirt. The rags pick the dirt up and need to be washed.

This steamer has got big PSI(pressure). It's up there with professional steamers. It also holds 1.5 liters of water. This means it can crank out lots of steam for over 15 minutes.
While no steamer can do the fake stuff shown on TV infomercials this steamer performs very well. It will clean tile grout to look new. Yup, makes your floor look new again. The 6ft steamer hose can get in cracks on the stove or refridgerator to blow stuff out that nothing else can. Good for degreasing ovens, auto engines and wheels but it's not as easy as they show on TV. Use a bristle scrub brush and a drop of dish soap to emulsify grease. Then wipe it up. Steamers don't clean soap scum on showers like they show on TV. Lime away still rules that domain. Steamers will blow away wierd black stuff in corners leaving a sanitary surface that looks brand new. Another steamer hint: use a wet vac to suck up the steam as you're cleaning carpet stains. Don't waste your time with a wimpy steamer. If you're going to get one you need BIG PSI with BIG water capacity like this one.

I found the other reviews to be fairly accurate, however, there is an important point missing for pure carpet cleaning. I have used the DeLonghi Steam Cleaner a few times on my carpet. This steam cleaner is not a steam vacuum. So, there is no functional way to get the dirt up once you've loosened it. The way DeLonghi suggests taking care of this is to use a towel that comes with the cleaner. You attach the towel to the end of the steam cleaner attachment, so the steam shoots through the towel. I have to say that this did not work for me. I had to use Resolve carpet cleaner with the steam brush to really get out tough stains. The towel they provided actually stained my white carpet, so don't use it!
For steaming other hard to clean surfaces, it's worked fine. But for pure carpet cleaning, the DeLonghi leaves something to be desired.

This unit is rugged, light, and very well-designed. I was able to remove carpet stains which I was unable to get up by any other method. Unlike many other steam cleaners which are little more than toys and barely generate steam pressure above 1 atmosphere, this unit has excellent steam pressure which is necessary for difficult cleaning jobs such as barbecue grills and tough carpet stains. Steam pressure is generated in a matter of only minutes after filling the boiler and powering the unit. The ability to do serious cleaning without using any chemicals is a terrific asset. The steam switch on the wand is a great convenience.

This steamer is one of the easiest to use and possibly one of the better ones out there. The setup was very quick and easy. The manual was very clear in instructing how to use the steam cleaner along with it's tools. I ordered this for my mom who saw something similiar to this on the home shopping network and nagged me to order one. The moment this thing was out of the box, she knew right away how to use it because of what she saw on the television. Being pessimistic, I didn't think this thing would clean out any carpet stains because it didn't have a vacuum of any sort like the bissel models. But using only a attachable towel or cloth of some sort, it was able to clean up some of the 5-10 year old stains around my home as well as accidents by the dog which were very difficult to get out by hand. To think I was planning to return it. But after using it myself and watching my mom use it with ease, I think I got what I paid for.

Despite the category in which ... places this product, this is NOT a carpet or upholstery cleaner. THIS IS NOT A VACUUM. The unit spits out steam--it has no mechanism for taking up dirt. Using it on a carpet leaves your carpet soaking wet and turns the dirt into mud. Using it on upholstery is worse--how would you get the water out of the couch if there is no vacuum function on this product?

The unit heats up water and produces incredibly hot steam. It also spits it out pretty well using the crevice tool. I have used this crevice tool successfully on my outdoor grill, bathtub, venetian blinds, and my car tires. Nevertheless, I still had to go over each of those surfaces with a sponge and soap to clean up the mess that this product leaves behind.

i got my steam cleaner for christmas of 2000. from my use of it so far, i must say that the unit is impressive---it is so sturdy, i never have to worry about it breaking like i have with other steam cleaners.
however, i have had one big problem occur as well, and i will tell you about that first. it's like this:

my couch has a old stain on it...lasagna. i sprayed and sprayed and sprayed, nothing was happening except that the cushion was soggy. the cloth that is supposed to pick up the residue just looked wet, and the stain was still there. i realized that i needed to somehow suck the water out, but that would require _another_ steam cleaner, since my ordinary vacuum does not suck up liquids without facing certain death.

so, that stain is still there...mocking me. i tried to be angry at my steam cleaner, but to no avail. here's the part that makes up for that one problem. it is just such a good product otherwise. my favorite part (a dream come true): clean your toilet without ever touching it. it just blows everything right off! and while it may fly onto the wall behind it, then you just spray that into a nice little corner and get it with one wipe, as opposed to having to spend minutes toiling over a place where you...well, you get the picture.
to make a long story short, my tiles are clean, my crappy linoleum kitchen floor is clean, i melted off some paint that i thought was a stain (oops), i cleaned out all the disgusting oily or hairy corners in the windows and sliding doors. all without ever putting a kitchen glove on.
even better, the steam is so all consuming, that you can strip down and take a steam bath while you clean! (ok, i haven't done that, but i've thought about it...cheaper than joining a gym all in all...better workout with just a one time fee!)

The Delonghi ST100P Steam It Clean Steamer is a powerful, versatile machine that includes a variety of convenient attachments to help you clean floors, windows, countertops, grout, you name it. It also comes with extra-long hose extensions so that you can reach farther while you clean. And the extremely hot, high-pressured steam emitted by this Delonghi Steamer will surely kill most, if not all bacteria and germs so that you can reduce or eliminate the use of toxic disinfectants such as bleach or lye. It's a wise investment.

The Delonghi ST100P Steamer is an almost perfect cleaning machine. However, there is always room for improvement. It would be an even better machine if it were more light weight and easier to manuever. Also, some of the accessory cleaning tools and hose extensions are hard to attach and detach. It would also be helpful if the main hose was detachable so that you could move or empty the steamer tank without having to drag the hose along. Another nice improvement would be a self-retracting electrical cord so that you could move the machine without it running over its own cord.

Overall, the Delonghi ST100P Steamer is a highly useful cleaning machine with impressive power and performance.

We had just moved into a condo, and the previous owner was, let's just say, not so clean. The bathrooms have the 1 inch tile flooring, white nonetheless. However, they were tan and the grout is brown. I couldn't clean it with ordinary cleaners or conventional ways. I purchased the DeLonghi Steam Cleaner hesitant of its price. It was the best purchase I've made so far in our new home. The steamer does exactly what it says it going to do - CLEAN. The fact that it steams back to the original color what you're using it for is amazing. The cleanup after using the steam cleaner is a little messy, as you have just liquified all of the grunge, dirt and dust accumulated on the surface. But it's well worth it. I would not recommend using it on walls, the heat from the steam can cause the paint to bubble and peel off. Also not recommended for flooring other than tile, stone or other hard surface. The wood floors it will stain with water spots if you use it too close and often.

I recommend this product for cleaning bathroom tile, kitchen appliance, even your car or motorcycle. It did an amazing job on the white letters on the car tires.

I bought my steam cleaner to clean and sanitize carpets and furniture.

It is easy to set up and simple to use, but it took me years to learn how slowly to guide the steam over a porous surface like upholstery and carpeting. I understand that the unit delivers steam at such a high pressure, the moisture dries quickly. I can see that process when I clean windows, vinyl and wood flooring, painted and wood walls, the shower and other nonporous surfaces. I used a full tank of water to clean a mattress, and found that the mattress became only slightly damp. I don't know how deeply the steam penetrated the mattress. I have the same trouble judging its effectiveness on carpet, though it removed indented furniture marks that I had previously given up on.

I also did not originally understand that I was supposed to vacuum and/or wipe the surface before AND after I steam cleaned. I have found that this is necessary: vacuum or wipe before using the steamer to pick up easily available dirt, and then after steaming to remove the loosened dirt.

Another problem is that I am nearly 6' tall. The wands are too short for me to use comfortably on a floor while standing. I called DeLonghi twice for advice, and the reps had no suggestions. I asked for another wand to add to the length, and they advised me against this, stating that the machine is not engineered to work with a longer length. I find that I prefer doing most cleaning on my hands and knees with this machine. I only use the wand to reach areas above my head.

I really like using a cleaner that is so environmentally friendly. The ability to operate this unit for only 45 minutes at a time has been satisfactory for me. I don't want to spend more than 45 minutes at a time using any cleaning equipment.

I looked for "wiping cloths" to replace the one that came with it. It is like a super-heavy HandiWipe that covers and is held in place by clamps on the brush heads. The closest ones I have found are available from DeLonghi, but the new ones I received are much less effective than the original one. I experimented with alternatives: cotton cloths dripped, synthetic cloths shredded quickly from the stiff bristles rubbing the carpet. I finally found a solution: I treat the surface with the steam, then wipe it by hand with a rag or a mop. I don't use the brushes at all.

I recommend this cleaner for sanitizing and quickly cleaning up messes. I'm also finding that it works well for removing old perfume odors from wooden beams, upholstered furniture and painted walls.

Added 8/2010: I've had mine 10 years. It is reliable and still fun to use.

I filled the tank once and forgot about it, so it sat for weeks full of water. The directions advise against this. Sure enough, when I tried to replace the water, I found a lot of white slimy lumps in the tank that clogged the water spout. My online research revealed that the boiler tank is aluminum, so I very carefully soaked and rinsed it with a vinegar solution. I was afraid of pitting the aluminum with the acidity of the vinegar, but I knew that I needed the vinegar to dissolve the mineral accumulation. Finally, when I filled the tank and emptied it, the water ran clear. Then I turned on the unit with apprehension...and it works as well as new!